


Love Me While I Bleed

by islolzaword



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Angst, Fluff and Angst, Guns, Hospitals, M/M, Major Character Injury, Shooting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-28 23:24:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11428425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/islolzaword/pseuds/islolzaword
Summary: Aaron and Robert are separated but are still very much in love. Aaron can't cope with the baby. But when tragedy strikes they are forced to confront how they feel head on.





	Love Me While I Bleed

**Author's Note:**

> So this is long, lol. I wanted to try and make everyone in this as realistic as possible. I guess me writing this was just a way of coming to terms with the storyline, letting out my frustration and yada yada. Tell me what you think in the comments!

There’s that saying, Murphey’s Law, that whenever something can go wrong, it will. It always comes down to the wire, when you think everything is starting to work itself out then Wham, it’s all gone in a flash. 

Robert breathed heavily as Aaron walked into the café, his heart almost constricting in his chest. It had been a few months since they’d decided a break would be a good thing for them. At least that was what Robert had thought when he suggested it. Aaron had been in a bad place, unable to stand the idea of Robert having a baby with Rebecca. He’d turned to cutting himself and when Robert had found out, it had broken his heart to no end. 

He knew Aaron needed help, he needed to be happy. If he wasn’t happy with Robert, then he needed to find another way. It had been a mutual agreement in the end. They both agreed that the best way to go forward was to take a step back, get a breather, let them both figure out what it is that they wanted. 

Robert had come to terms with being a dad. He’d tossed and turned over in his sleep every night because of this sinking feeling that his kid would have to grow up thinking that his own dad didn’t want him. Robert had always felt neglected by his own dad, he knew how terrible it was, how it messed with his head to no end. He’d taken the initiative and accepted Rebecca’s offer to put his name on the birth certificate. 

He was doing this.

But he still missed Aaron. 

They both still wore their rings, they both still loved each other, that was evident in the way they held each other’s gaze from opposite sides of the café. Robert smiled softly as he nodded at him, Aaron smiled back as he moved closer to his table.

“How are you?” Aaron asked as he took a seat. Robert nodded his head as he looked down at his coffee cup. His heart was fluttering just looking at him. He wanted him back, he wanted to be home. 

“I’m good…you?” he said back with optimism coursing through every word.

It seemed Aaron had been avoiding him for weeks so this was something he hadn’t expected.

“Good, yeah” he said with a nod, refusing to meet Robert’s eyes as he looked down to his knuckles.

“I…ah…I haven’t seen you in a while” Robert said nervously, hoping to gage exactly what was running through his mind. It was so fricking difficult not being able to read Aaron right now, because that was something he was always able to do.

“Yeah…I ah…I had a scrap run in France, at one of the ports, a few guys needed one of the trucks but the ship was delayed so only got back last night” he said in the way of an explanation. “I would have called you…or texted you…but I ah…I don’t know…” 

“Aaron, you don’t owe me anything,” Robert said with a shake of his head “I just want to know that you’re alright” Aaron sniffed as he moved his gaze from his hands and looked back up at Robert.

“I promise you…I’m fine.” He said, albeit a little unconvincing, but right now Robert knew not to push it, so he just nodded. It was a few moments before either of them spoke again. 

“Look, I know this is strange, but are you able to pick Liv up from school tomorrow?” Aaron asked quietly. Robert screwed up his forehead in confusion, he really hadn’t expected that.

“I don’t know, would she want me to? Last time I spoke with her, she practically threw a melon at my face” Aaron smirked, then looking back up at Robert, straightened out his face because, yeah it had been funny, and Robert may have deserved it but he could still remember the black eye he’d worn for weeks afterward. 

“Yeah, she isn’t your biggest fan. But she was kicked off the bus last week, both me and Adam are in this meeting with those blokes from New Castle, Mum’s got this meeting with the bank because of Charity and Debbie’s antics meaning the pub could be foreclosed if it isn’t sorted. I asked Vic but she said she was busy, so I mean…if you could possibly…?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course I can,” Robert said abruptly. He’d do anything for Aaron and Liv. There would never be an if, but or maybe about it. 

Aaron smiled softly, his eyes slowly melting as he looked at Robert. Their gazes were locked, neither of them wanting to lose it. It was obvious they missed each other, the good times, the laughs, the teasing, the happiness. There was a time when they were so happy, it’s hard for Aaron to even imagine it now. He loved him so much, sometimes he wondered why he was still keeping his distance. But that question was answered as he suddenly noticed Robert’s posture change, his face falling as he looked towards the door. He turned around to see Rebecca walk in, her baby bump now very evident as she made her way into the café. She looked at them and if she was surprised to see them talking, she didn’t show it. She just continued walking towards the counter, ordering a hot chocolate as she approached. 

Aaron could feel his heart constrict like it always did when he saw her. He clenched his eyes shut as he turned back to Robert who was now looking at him with worry.

“Aaron…”

“Leave it” he said abruptly, he went to get up, causing for Robert’s optimism to completely shatter to the floor. “Look, thanks for Liv… I’ll see you tomorrow” Robert shut his eyes in frustration as he watched Aaron turn and walk away. This was always going to get in the way. He knew he needed to be a father, he didn’t want to abandon his kid, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t miss Aaron like crazy. 

Rebecca chose that moment to approach his table, obviously not catching the fact that Robert really didn’t want to talk to her right now. They were on better terms, civil terms, but they were far from being friends.

“You alright?” she asked. Robert refused to look at her, just continued to stare down at his coffee. 

“Fine” he said, not wanting to get into anything with her right now. 

“Just reminding you that there’s another scan tomorrow, if you wanted to come.” Robert sighed heavily

“What time?” 

“11, I’ll meet you at the hospital then?”

“Yeah, fine” he said as he got up from his chair, quickly sculling the last of his coffee before walking out of the café. 

He knew it was his fault, he knew that this whole situation came about because he always had to hit the self-destruct button whenever something went wrong. It didn’t stop him from hurting, missing Aaron. His beautiful Aaron. He hated that it had to be this way. He only blamed himself. 

…

Aaron was busy cooking breakfast when Liv finally came downstairs. Her school uniform was scruffy, like usual, her ponytail long and flowing down her back. She sighed as she threw her bag over one of the dining room chairs before she started to get what she needed to make some toast. She looked at her brother, and laughed when she noticed him screwing his face up at the tea in his hands.

“You know, you make shit tea, right?” she joked as she put the bread in the toaster. He rolled his eyes and smiled.

“I gathered, considering this tastes like cat piss” he said with a laugh. 

“You know, there’s this thing called a tea bag, which you leave in the pot, so that the brew isn’t more tasteless than water”

“Alright, Pessimistic Patty, what’s made you such an expert?” She laughed 

“Well having to go from Robert making the tea in this family…” she cut herself off when she saw her brother’s face drop, she didn’t think. “Sorry,” she said as she quickly moved towards the fridge to get the butter. 

He smiled softly at her when she turned back around.

“Hey, no it’s fine,” he said and she smiled back. She hated that he was like this, she missed Robert like crazy but was still so pissed at him for hurting her brother like this. 

“I…ah…I saw him…yesterday” he said as he looked at his tea. She raised an eyebrow, last time she heard, they hadn’t had any contact in weeks. 

“How was it?” she asked subtly, not wanting to push him too far. He just shrugged,

“Good, I miss just talking to him I guess” Liv looked to the floor, knew that feeling all too well. All her and Robert ever did was have their barney’s, but he was still one of the people she enjoyed the company of the most.

“What did you talk about?” she asked

“Not a lot, just small talk mostly. I hope you don’t mind but I ah…I asked him if he could pick you up from school today” Liv raised her eyebrows, that she hadn’t expected. She heard her toast pop and moved to grab it, not saying a word.

“If you don’t want him to I can find someone else. Zac could I guess. He was just there, I don’t know he was just the next person I thought would be able to do it” She buttered her toast slowly as the thought ran through her mind, she did miss him, and she did want to apologize for throwing that melon at him – even if he had deserved it. She shook her head and sighed heavily before she turned to face Aaron.

“No, no it’s fine. I want to see him anyway” he looked at her quizzically for a second.

“You do?” he asked 

“I know you and him are going through this weird thing at the moment, but I do miss him so yeah, I just want to talk to him and this could be my chance to.” Aaron nodded as he put his mug down on the counter, crossing his arms as he leaned back against it. 

“I hope that’s ok with you?” she asked, he nodded his head because it was.

“No, yeah it’s fine. I get it” he said “I guess I miss him too, so yeah, I get it” she looked at him intently for a second.

“Is there a chance you could ever forgive him?” he closed his eyes shut as he looked up at the roof. He didn’t like that question, he hated it simply because he still didn’t know the answer.

“I don’t know,” he said softly, he really didn’t.

“Is it just because of the baby?” she asked him and he looked at her with a pensive gaze. He bit his lip because he had thought about this. 

“I couldn’t hate a kid,” he told his sister, then he started fiddling with his hands.

“What is it then?” Liv asked. Aaron looked down at his hands, a knot very evident in the pit of his stomach.

“It’s that woman,” he said through clenched teeth. “She acts like this is all his fault, and I know a big chunk of it is, but she didn’t even apologize for sleeping with my husband.” Liv screwed up her face at the thought. “For months she threw herself at him and he turned her down, then when he was heartbroken and vulnerable, she took her chance. I love him, I know he made a mistake, but I don’t want to have to spend the rest of my life with her there in the background.” Liv bit her lip as she took in what he was saying. '

“I hate that they’ve done this to you,” she said as she shook her head. Aaron shrugged.

“I’ve just gotta move on somehow”

“Do you think you can do that?”

“I’ll have to try”

…

“So the baby still looks healthy, just keep those vitamins going and you’ll be on the home stretch before you know it,” the doctor said with a warm smile. Rebecca looked at him and smiled back. 

“Thank you, doctor,” she said as she got up from the table. Robert stood up from the chair he’d been sitting in on the other side of the room. They exited through the door and started heading to the reception, neither of them saying a word.

“So I need to tell you something,” Rebecca said before long, trying to get his attention. She stopped and he turned to look at her, letting out a groan as he just wanted to get back to where he was staying at the B&B. It was good to see that his son was fit and healthy, and he looked forward to meeting him, but now he just wanted to get a move on. 

“What?” he asked her sullenly

“I’m going away for a couple weeks, Chrissie has this big event in Brussels next week and she wants me there to support her”. He screwed up his face

“What? You can’t. You heard the doctor in there, you could go into labour any minute now.” He said. She looked at him in annoyance,

“So you’re dictating what I can and can’t do now, are you?” she questioned. He just rolled his eyes

“Oh yeah, make out like I’m the bad guy…again.” He said exasperatedly “All I care about is that my son is safe, and you going jetpacking to another country is hardly going to be good for him” 

“Look, there’s still heaps of time before he’s due, stop overreacting” he raised his eyebrows

“Are you kidding me? Do you know how common premature births are? You’re not supposed to be traveling in your final trimester – everybody knows that!” she rolled her eyes again.

“It’s not that big of a deal alright?”

“How long will you be gone then?”

“Three weeks” he shook his head

“This is some kind of set up, isn’t it? You’re hoping to give birth while you're away so that I’m not there when he’s born?” she laughed

“I find it so funny that you even care, considering you wanted me to get him aborted for so long” he stepped back and clenched his eyes shut.

“I’ve said sorry for that, you know I regret it. Doesn’t change the fact that you have no say over whether I’m in his life or not” he growled as he walked towards the doors to the hospital leaving her standing there with nothing but anger coursing through her. 

…

Lachlan was sitting at one of the booths when Rebecca came storming through the doors of the pub. She sat down in front of him and he looked at her confused.

“I really hate that man!” she said with aggression. 

“What did he do?” he asked with concern

“Just being an arrogant arsehole like usual” 

Lachlan clenched his jaw. He hated Robert more than he had ever hated anyone. Why couldn’t he just leave his family alone? He listened to Rebecca rant, his eyes slowly becoming distant as he imagined the gun hidden in his grandfather's safe.

Someone had to protect his family. He guessed it had better be him.

…

Robert had just got back to the village, and remembering he had to pick Liv up in a bit, he walked towards David’s with the idea of buying her some prawn and cocktail crisps to numb the awkwardness, knowing they were her favourite. To be honest, he didn’t have a clue how she’d be with him, if she would still be hostile, if she’d have missed him. He hadn’t seen her in weeks, so he was nervous as all hell. 

He was still seething from his argument with Rebecca, it being obvious that she wasn’t ready to let him be a father to his own kid if she was just going to swan off to another country without telling him first. That was the least she could have done, instead of springing it on him last minute. 

He tried to forget it, walking into the shop and heading straight to the counter. He noticed Vic walking in behind him as he turned to give her a grin. “Hey,” he said in way of a greeting and she smiled back. She noticed the crisps he was buying and gave him a confused look.

“You hate prawn and cocktail,” she said skeptically. He laughed

“They’re for Liv,” he said, and she raised an eyebrow. “I’m off to pick her up, Aaron asked me to yesterday. Apparently, everyone was busy so he wanted me to do it.” She nodded her head in surprise.

“That sounds promising,” she said, he cocked at eyebrow at her optimism

“I’m not gonna read anything into it. He still needs space, and I respect that” she nodded her head, scratching her nose as she watched him hand Tracy over a tenner.

“So you and lover boy working through things are ya?” Tracy asked with a smirk. He looked at her with a furrowed brow

“Mind your own,” he told her before he walked out of the shop with Vic in tow. She was obviously laughing at the exchange because she couldn’t manage to keep a straight face.

“Glad you find me being separated from my husband so hilarious” he stated and she bit her lip.

“No, it’s just good to see that there’s still hope for the two of you. I know having this baby isn’t going to be easy, but maybe Aaron will find a way of moving past it.”

“He’s made it clear that he can’t, and I’m not going to ask him to do that. I love him, I always will. But please don’t get my hopes up because I don’t think there’s a future for us anymore”

“Maybe when he’s born, Aaron can accept it. You never know, he might surprise you.”

“Don’t”

“I mean, this is Aaron we’re talking about. He loves you like crazy”

“Vic…” he tried to stop her talking

“I just don’t see why…”

“VIC! Please, I’m begging you. The last thing I want is to get my heart ripped out when I see that he’s never going to want me back. It’s just easier if I accept we’ll never get back to that place we were”

“Robert, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to upset you” 

“Just leave me alone Vic,” he said as he began walking away. 

“Robert!” Vic called out after him, she needed to make sure he was alright. 

He got to the middle of the main street when the sound of a gunshot rang through the air. Like a crack of thunder so loud, and with no clue where it came from. Vic’s breath caught in her throat as she watched Robert continue to walk away and then the next thing Vic saw was Robert fall to the ground, her heart stopping in her chest, a scream falling from her mouth. 

“ROBERT!” She ran towards him, launching herself onto him. Her brain was thumping loud inside her head. This couldn’t be happening again. She wouldn’t be able to handle it if it was. She turned him over and saw his chest bleeding. “Oh god!” she cried as she saw where the bullet had entered his body. “ROBERT!” she cried, hoping for him to open his eyes. She looked around her “HELP!” she cried.

She saw Tracy and David exit the shop at the sound of her cries. 

“Oh my god” Tracy said below her breath as they both rushed over to where Vic was holding Robert in her arms.

“I’ll call an ambulance!” David shouted.

Soon more villages were finding their way onto the main street, most of them having heard the shot. Chas came running down the road, not knowing who was going to be hurt. But when she saw her son-in-law’s body lying limply in his sister’s arms, the words could not escape her. 

“Robert?” she said beneath her breath. She made her way over to him, kneeling beside him. Oh, god she thought when she saw all the blood. This can’t be happening, this couldn’t be happening.

“Robert, open your eyes! You can’t leave my boy,” she said through clenched teeth, a tear silently falling down her cheek, “Not like this”.

…  
“Mate, I’m telling you. I’m this close to getting Vic back.” Adam said smugly as they continued to drive along the old road, getting nearer to the village as they spoke. Aaron shook his head with a laugh. 

“Has she actually said to you that she wants to get back together or are you just reading into things?”

“Well she kissed me so I mean, that’s a pretty big green light” Aaron smirked

“Just be careful yeah, she’s been through a lot. And so have you. Don’t rush it, is all I’m saying.”

“What like you and Robert? Mate, you guys have been playing hot and cold for months. Just jump his bones already” Aaron laughed but didn’t say anything. Sometimes he wondered if that would be a good idea. Probably wouldn’t be. No, him and Robert always had the sexual thing going for them. It would be too easy for them to jump into old habits. Aaron still didn’t know what he wanted so rushing into sleeping with Robert again would only do more harm than good, would only confuse the both of them even more. 

Just then he got a text come through on his phone. He looked at it and saw it was from Liv.

L: Robert hasn’t picked me up. Are you back from your meeting yet? 

Aaron could feel the anger bubbling up inside of him. He clenched his jaw and threw his phone onto the dashboard in front of him.

“Woah mate, what’s up?” Adam asked with concern.

“Remind me to never take your advice ever,” Aaron said through gritted teeth

“What’s happened?”

“I asked him to do one thing and he can’t even do that!’ he shouted with frustration. 

“What, you mean Liv?” Adam demanded and Aaron nodded his head in anger. “Well there must be some explanation, he wouldn’t just leave her in the lurch” 

“Wouldn’t he? Because he’s proven to be quite the twat these last couple months!” Adam screwed his face up. 

“Look, we’ll get back to the village, we’ll get your car and we’ll get her together. You’re in too much of a state to drive anyway” Aaron sighed heavily, nodded his head then quickly sent a text back to Liv, explaining that he’d be there soon. When he saw Robert, he didn’t know what he’d do. 

…  
As Adam drove onto the main street the both of them suddenly noticed a large number of villagers huddled together in the middle of the road. 

“What’s going on?” Aaron asked dubiously. 

“I don’t know,” said Adam as he pulled up by the pub. They both got out, slamming the doors of the truck behind them. That’s when they both saw David on the phone, babbling on as he tried to answer whoever was on the other end of the line.

“I don’t know what happened, all I know is that there was a gunshot and suddenly he was lying on the ground!” Aaron raised his eyebrows at that.

“Shit, someone’s been shot,” he said to Adam. Adam looked back at him with concern in his eyes. They both moved as quickly as they could over to where the crowd of people was standing.

“Would everyone just step back please!” Aaron heard his mother scream. 

“Mum!” he called, she suddenly looked at him, her eyes suddenly filled with shock, and she burst into tears. She moved towards him.

He noticed the blood on her hands and took a step back as she tried to pull him into a hug.

“Mum what’s happening, who was shot?” she looked at him then, really looked at him as she took a deep breath, almost to the point where she was hyperventilating.

“I’m so sorry love”

“Mum, what are you talking about? Who is it?” he could feel himself beginning to panic now. Why wouldn’t she tell him who it was?

“Aaron…” she took another deep breath, her eyes connecting with his and he found himself beginning to shake his head, refusing to believe it.

“No….No” he said as he could begin to connect the dots in his head. Robert would never have just left Liv waiting around for him in the cold. There had to be a reason he didn’t show up.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, tears flowing freely down her face. “Aaron…. It’s Robert”

Aaron could feel his lungs give out as he pushed past her. Everybody who was crowding around saw that he was there, and they all moved out of the way, pity written clear on their faces.

“No, no, no, no, no, no!” Aaron cried as soon as he saw his husband lying on the ground in front of him. He suddenly felt hot tears in his eyes as he launched himself down beside Victoria who was still holding onto Robert for dear life. Adam quickly ran over to her, burying her in his arms. Aaron held onto Robert’s head, not caring that his tears were falling onto his husband’s cold face. 

“Wake up! Robert! Please, I’m begging you!” he cried. He put his hand on his chest, trying to stop the bleeding that was leaking from his gunshot wound. Aaron remembered a similar time when he was doing just this. But this time it was harder because at that point he could never have imagined the life that he and Robert would have had, and now all he wanted was Robert, his Robert, safe, happy, in his arms with nothing but love and affection between them. 

Aaron didn’t notice the villagers stood around, holding onto each other as they watched Aaron cry onto Robert’s shoulder. They all saw him grab onto Robert’s hand, begging for him to not leave him, begging him to open his eyes, to wait for the ambulance, to hold on, stay strong, to do anything but leave. 

“Robert please don’t leave me. I love you, come back to me please!”. 

He didn’t notice Tracy gasping into her hand as she buried her head in David’s shoulder, tears falling down her face. He didn’t notice Pearl flicking away a tear as she watched this man losing the love of his life. He didn’t notice Vanessa holding Johnny’s head, not letting him see Robert lying there, just dying, not moving. He didn’t notice Zac take off his hat in a show of respect, he didn’t notice Paddy step forward to grab his arm, pull him into a hug. He didn’t notice the tears that just continued to pour down his face as he gasped and buried his head in Paddy’s shoulder. He didn’t notice his mum moving towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder in reassurance.

He didn’t notice anything but his husband.

He clenched his eyes shut when he heard the ambulance, in what little bit of relief he could suffice to feel. He wanted to hold on, he was hoping to God that Robert could hold on. 

He didn’t notice Lachlan running off towards the foot bridge, a look a satisfaction etched into his smirk. 

…

The waiting room was cold, there were heaters going throughout the whole building, but all Aaron could feel was the cold. He was sat on the edge of one of the plastic seats, his leg twitching with Liv curled into a ball beside him. Adam had gone to fetch her in the end, bringing her straight to the hospital. Aaron had tried to stop himself from crying in front of her, knew that he needed to try and be strong for her. It hadn’t lasted long, as soon as he saw how worried she was, he broke down again. She’d pulled him into her arms, and he knew that she was the strong one, there was nobody stronger than her. 

He was biting his nails as he looked around the room, at the people waiting to see if Robert was going to be okay. Vic had her head buried in Adams' shoulder, tears having stopped for now, but it was only a matter of time before they started again. She couldn’t get the image out of her head, the one of Robert just falling, landing on the ground like he was nothing but a stuffed doll. She wanted it out, she couldn’t handle it. 

Diane had arrived shortly after. She’d been in Hotten all day but as soon as she’d got the phone call about Robert, Doug rushed her to the hospital as fast as he could. She’d arrived more flustered than anyone had ever seen her, and it was no surprise to anyone when she burst into tears right there in the waiting room.   
Chas was opposite Aaron, looking at him intently, trying to read him as he sat there in silence. Paddy was next to her, doing the same.

“Would you two stop looking at me like I’m a helpless kid?” he demanded, but there was the crack in his voice. He couldn’t do this, he just needed to know that his husband was alright. 

Chas leaned forward in her chair to try and grab his hand. He knew it was her trying to be reassuring but it just made him agitated as he rushed to stand up from his chair. That was when a nurse came through the double doors, looking down at a clipboard as she approached them.

“Hi!” Aaron said suddenly, catching her off guard as he looked up from the clipboard. She gave him a soft smile and he tried to stop himself bursting into tears again.

“My husband, Robert Sugden. He was brought in earlier with a gunshot wound. I was wondering if you’d heard anything?” she smiled again then looked down at the clipboard. 

“It seems your husband has a collapsed lung. The surgeons are trying to repair the damage, but it might take some time. He also lost a lot of blood, they’re looking at getting him a transfusion. At this point he is stable and the doctors are doing everything they can. We’ll try and get you an update soon” Aaron sniffed and nodded 

“He…um…he’s been shot before, in the same place pretty much. Will that impact his recovery at all?” Aaron asked, nervous to know the answer.

“It seems he does have some scar tissue, and the surgeon will try and repair the lung, which may be difficult with his past trauma. But as I said, they are doing everything they can. We will let you know if anything changes.” He nodded his head trying to believe there was a reason to be hopeful. He didn’t know what he’d do if Robert didn’t pull through this. 

…

Rebecca entered the kitchen of home farm, her head a mess after her long day. Chrissie was sitting at the bench with her eyes open wide in shock, she had been waiting for her sister to get home for ages. Rebecca had ended up heading into Hotten for some last-minute baby shopping, retail therapy if she ever did need it. She didn’t notice the tense atmosphere when she first entered as she went to grab a glass of water.

“I finally decided to buy that big armchair for the nursery, you know the red one. It’s going to go so well with those red decal things that Ronnie built, what do you think…” she cut herself off when she saw how out of it her sister looked. 

“Chris?” she asked slowly, nervous about whatever had made her sister like this.

“Bex, something’s happened. And I think Lachlan was involved.” She said all in one long breath

“What’s happened?” she asked nervously

“Rob…Robert’s been shot” Rebecca’s eyebrows shot to the roof, this being the last thing she would have expected to hear.

“W…wh…what do you mean, when did this happen?” she found herself beginning to get flustered

“Earlier today. Outside David’s. He’s been taken to the hospital.” Chrissie explained

“What makes you think that Lachlan was involved?”

“I found the gun outside of the safe. I don’t know what to do Bex. He’s gone completely off the rails!”

“We need to go to the police!” Rebecca said quickly

“He’s my son Bex!”

“And he’s already tried to kill Dad! You said yourself, he’s off the rails. He’s just shot a man in cold blood, what else are we going to do?” 

“I don’t know Rebecca! But can we just hold off on the police for one second please?”

“We need to do the right thing, Chrissie! We need to do something! We can’t just do nothing!” 

Just then Lachlan walked into the kitchen. Rebecca took a step back, frightened about what he might do.

“Did you do it?” Chrissie demanded, “Did you shoot Robert?” Lachlan looked between them, confused by their reaction

“I thought you would both be happy about this!” he said, basically confirming what they both had suspected. Chrissie took a step back, her mouth in her hands.   
“What have you done Lachlan!!” Chrissie screamed

“He’s been nothing but awful to this family! He’s treated both of you like crap, and you care that he’s dead”

“He may be a very hateful man but that doesn’t mean he deserves to die! Why is that your answer for everything? Do you not care that you could end up back in prison, that you’re ruining this family more than it already has been? Everyone in the village already hates us! What are they going to think now?” Chrissie yelled, begging him to understand

“You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?” he asked, shocked that he even needed to ask the question.

“I can’t do this, I can’t be here,” Rebecca said stepping away from the bench. She moved to grab her coat.

“Maybe you should find some other kind of hobby instead of trying to kill people all the time.” She said through gritted teeth.

“Where are you going?” Lachlan begged

“To make sure you only get done for attempted murder, not murder of the first degree.” She said before she exited the house, slamming the door shut behind her.

“Rebecca!” Lachlan shouted after her “What are you doing?” he tried to follow her but Chrissie stood in the way.

“We need to get you help son. You can’t keep doing this to people” she cried, tears pouring down her face.

“Mum please!”

“I’m sorry, I wish it could be different” but there really was no other way.

…

Aaron felt empty, he had no idea what was running through his mind as he sat by Robert’s bed. Apparently, the surgery had been successful but they needed to keep an eye on his lung, making sure that it didn’t collapse another time. He was in a coma.

Again. 

Aaron felt a tear travel down his cheek as he looked at his husband. There was a tube coming from his chest, a way to drain the blood and air that surrounded his lungs. It was a necessity to make sure that Robert stayed stable. The heartbeat monitor was like music to Aaron’s ears, because it meant he was alive – and that gave Aaron hope – which was something he desperately needed. 

Aaron was holding onto his hand, never wanting to let it go again. He felt the ring that matched his own and smiled softly, warming his heart, the fact that he’s never come close to taking it off. 

“Please be okay” he whispered into his husband’s hand “I know now that I don’t want to live my life without you” he sobbed. He’d been through a lot in his life, but nothing would hurt more than losing Robert forever. 

He leaned forward and ran a hand through his bright blonde hair, it was always something Aaron did whenever he needed comfort. It gave him some relief, feeling that there was still warmth radiating through his husband’s body. But it used to always be met with Robert running his cheek along his arm.   
He didn’t do that now, he just stayed still.

“Please, Robert. I need you to wake up soon.” He cried softly. Just then there was a knock at the door of the hospital room. It was Chas. 

“I know you don’t want to leave his side love but…” she closed her eyes as if she hated herself for doing this “Rebecca is here and she wants to talk to you”   
Aaron screwed his eyes shut tight as he sighed

“Tell her to leave, she isn’t wanted here”

“She’s being pretty persistent, says that she knows who shot him”

That caught his attention more than anything else ever could. He screwed up his forehead in anger as he let go of Robert’s hand. He looked at him, that anger dissipating for a moment as he bent down to kiss his forehead. 

“I’ll be back soon. I promise”

And with that, he left the room.

…

“I know I’m probably the last person you wanted to talk to right now,” Rebecca said carefully. “I just need to know he’s alright” Aaron scoffed as he paced back and forth in front of her. It was just them two, most of the other’s deciding it was best to leave them to it.

“Well, he’s in a coma. So, he’s not doing too good!” he yelled, Rebecca flinched, which only caused for Aaron to shake his head and scoff another time.

“You don’t have to take this out on me” Aaron’s eyes popped out of his head. 

“You’re kidding me, right? I have every reason to take all my anger out on you! He’s only here because of you!”

“I didn’t force him to sleep with me Aaron!” she yelled, Aaron flinched and he took a step back. He looked away and neither of them spoke for a second. It was a silence that seemed to last forever, one neither of them wanted to break, but Aaron did. 

“You may not have forced him into anything,” he said, “But he certainly didn’t force you into anything either. At least he had his reasons. I pushed him away! I broke his heart! WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?” 

Rebecca closed her eyes and looked down at her stomach, covering it with her hand as if she were protecting her baby. Aaron noticed and shook his head in disdain.

“You can’t do that,” he said, softer this time, “You can’t guilt trip me into not saying my peace. I’ve waited long enough so you’re going to sit there and hear what I have to say!” Rebecca just looked at him then, standing up from her seat as she walked so she standing right in front of him.

“You seriously want to judge me for sleeping with someone else’s husband? Do you even remember what you did to Chrissie?” Aaron scoffed.

“I’m not judging you for sleeping with my husband. I’m judging you because you refuse to accept that you’re partly to blame for all of this. You keep walking around like this is something he did to you, not something you did together. I get it, he was horrible to you, but the way you’re acting people would think you were the drunk one in that scenario, not him. Yeah, he lied, but you were after him for months before that, and you were pretty god damn ready to believe every word he said. He’d turned you down so many times before, but you finally got what you wanted, didn't you? Never mind the fact that he was hurting, vulnerable and pressing that self-destruct button so hard, just like he has been ever since he was a kid!” Aaron could feel the anger coursing through his veins, and suddenly, after he’d said all that, something inside him clicked and he felt a weight lift from his shoulders. 

He was finally letting go of the anger that he’d been bottling up for months. It was freeing, and for once his heart wasn’t constricting with her being in his presence, for once he felt like she didn’t actually have any hold over him at all, a hold he thought he’d have to live with forever. He was facing his anger, not letting it fester inside of him and she was going to listen to every damn word he had to say. 

“Oh, and another thing. I never pretended to be Chrissie’s friend, to have her best interests at heart.” He continued, “don’t pretend like I was ever a friend to you. Because if that’s the case, you’re the shittiest friend I’ve ever had” 

Rebecca looked at him then, for once actually taking in what he was saying. She suddenly felt a wave of guilt rush over her, since she never wanted anyone to ever feel this way because of her.

“Aaron…”

“Don’t” he said as he felt tears dripping down his cheeks

“I never knew I made you feel like that. I’m sorry, okay” Aaron sniffed, looking at her, actually hearing the apology that he never thought he’d get.

“Don’t patronise me” he through gritted teeth.

“I’m not!” Rebecca said, tears starting to appear in her eyes as well “I mean it! I’m sorry!” Aaron sniffed and wiped away the tears from his eyes. He just walked over to one of the seats and sat down. Rebecca walked over and sat down at the chair across from him. 

“Is he going to be alright?” she asked, and Aaron could see that she was being sincere. He closed his eyes and shrugged, wanting to claw his way out of this stupid building, wishing his husband was okay, that he currently wasn’t lying in a hospital bed with a tube in his chest.

“I don’t know. They’re going to try and wake him up from his coma in a couple days. He had a collapsed lung, he’s lost a lot of blood. I don’t know” he said as he cried into his hands. Rebecca didn’t know what to do so she simply placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him as much as she could. 

A few minutes passed before Aaron sat up straight, remembering suddenly why he was talking to her in the first place. 

“Why are you here anyway? My mum said you know who shot him” Rebecca closed her eyes, knew that once she said this there was no going back. She took a deep breath

“Lachlan” she admitted, “Lachlan pulled the trigger”

…

It had been a few days since the shooting, Lachlan had been taken in for questioning and they were confident that he was going to be charged. It was now time for them to try and start bringing Robert out of his coma. 

The doctors began reducing the drugs and when there were no signs that Robert was going to wake up, Aaron had a brief panic attack. Liv had calmed him, told him it was early days and that there was still time for him to wake up. It wasn’t the end yet.

Two days later, Aaron was sitting at Robert’s bedside, holding his hand when he felt Robert twitch. Aaron perked up, looking at Robert waiting to see if he was indeed waking up.

“Rob?” he said with a bit of luck, not knowing if he should get his hopes up or not. He noticed it again then, the feeling of Robert’s fingers moving in his grasp. He sniffed as he suddenly felt tears cloud his vision, this time happy tears as he looked at Roberts' face, his eyes blinking open.

“Robert?” he asked again, then he could see Robert turn to look at him, his eyes suddenly filling with familiarity. 

“Aaaaon?” he mumbled through his oxygen mask. Aaron sniffed again and smiled as he got up excitedly

“I’m just gonna get the nurse, hold on yeah?” Robert looked confused as he watched him walk away. What the hell had happened?

…  
“Will people just stop shooting me please?” Robert said exasperatedly as he lay back in his bed a few days later. He was well on the way to recovery now but they had only now just decided to tell him the full extent of what had happened. The story was that Lachlan had shot him with his grandfather’s shotgun from a distance, had run back to home farm and was trying to put the gun away when he’d heard his mother come home.

“Don’t think about it now,” Aaron said softly as Vic and Liv stood on the other side of his bed. Robert groaned as he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

“You alright, want me to get the nurse?” he asked and Robert shook his head, looking to the glass of water on the counter behind Liv.

Liv took the initiative and brought it over to him, and he smiled at her. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t pick you up. I had Prawn and cocktail crisps waiting for you to devour” Liv smiled

“You’re such a loon. Not like you could have predicted this, could you?” Robert shrugged

“Well last time I was a right prick to everyone, this happened. Shouldn’t be too surprised that it happened, again should I?” he looked at Vic then and she smiled down at him, running a hand through his hair.

“Just know that you do have people who love you alright?” he smiled back at her, then turned to look at Aaron.

“Okay, I love you ladies to bits but do you mind if we have a minute?” he asked softly. They both looked between the two men, smiling as they made their way out of the room.

“I…ah…I’m glad you’re okay,” Aaron said as he coughed. Robert smiled.

“Thanks,” Robert said as he looked down to his hands where he was twiddling his thumbs. They hadn’t really had a moment alone in the time since Robert had woken up. To be honest, neither of them knew what to say.

“Do you feel any pain?” Aaron asked him softly, Robert shrugged.

“Dull aches, every now and again. Nothing I can’t handle” he said with a smile. Aaron laughed and shook his head.

“My husband eh? Really is invincible” Robert smiled at him widely as he reached out to grab Aaron’s hand. He took it and walked over to sit on the bed, careful to not put Robert in any discomfort. He looked down at him and sighed, then ran a hand through Robert’s hair.

“Do you mean that?” Robert asked with a nervous look in his eye, “do you still want me to be your husband?” Aaron looked into his eyes then, wanting to convey exactly how he felt in just one glance. He had never been one who was good with words. 

“I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone. I don’t want to imagine my life with anyone else but you.” He could see a tear forming in Roberts eye, who smiled as he gripped Aaron’s hand even tighter. 

“You have no idea how much I love you too” he whispered, his voice hoarse and quiet. Aaron could feel tears of his own forming now. He leaned forward and kissed Robert’s forehead, who leaned into it with his whole body. As Aaron pulled away, he noticed a sad look make its way onto Robert’s face.

“Hey what’s wrong?” he asked

“What about the baby?” he questioned sincerely. Aaron shrugged, looking away briefly before he turned back to look at Robert.

“Guess he’s gonna have two of the best Dad’s this world has ever known then?” Robert gasped, his tears falling freely now.

“Do you mean that?”

“Robert, if almost losing you taught me anything, it’s that I can’t not have you in my life. And I…ah…I talked to Rebecca” Robert’s eyes went wide with shock

“What did you say to each other?” Aaron shrugged

“I guess we reached some sort of…understanding. Not like we’ll ever be best friends, but at least now I don’t want to vomit whenever I look at her.” Robert laughed “Rob, I would never resent your son, I wouldn’t know how. If I love you, then I know I can love him as well” Robert smiled then, so widely his heart filled with so much love it was almost fit to burst. 

“I love you so fucking much Dingle” he declared and Aaron laughed as he leaned in close to Roberts' lips, kissing him softly as he ran his hand along his cheek.

“Back at you Sugden” he whispered


End file.
